ANAHEIM, Calif., June 15 -- Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc. (M-Flex), a provider of flexible printed circuit and component assembly products for the electronics industry, announced it agreed to acquire Applied Optics, a subsidiary of Applied Image Group Inc. that designs and manufactures optical and photonic imaging technology, for approximately $6.3 million in cash. M-Flex said it will operate the business as a wholly owned subsidiary under the name Aurora Optical Inc. and that it expects to hire the employees of Applied Optics and to continue to manage the business in its existing facility in Tucson, Ariz. Philip Harding, M-Flex chairman and CEO, said the purchased assets of Applied Optics include intellectual property comprised of patents and expertise related to the engineering, prototyping and manufacturing of optical components and photonic modules, such as those used in cell phones. "This additional optics design expertise and manufacturing capability, combined with our new wire-bonding assembly capability in China, will make it possible for us to offer cell phone manufacturers a competitively priced, higher-quality and eventually smaller-sized camera solution than what is currently available," Harding said. Reza Meshgin, M-Flex president and COO, said that in many cell phone product applications, assembling a camera module onto a flexible printed circuit requires a unique method of packaging the lens and the camera chip. "M-Flex already has developed an innovative camera-on-flex solution based on our pioneering work over the years mounting a full range of components onto flexible printed circuits, including image sensor chips. With this acquisition, we now can provide the design and manufacture of the complete camera module used in camera cell phones, including the lens, which is a significant contributor to the quality of the camera." Harding said MFlex will focus on expanding the design and application engineering team at Aurora Optical, and that an executive from a cell phone manufacturer will become president of the new unit. For more information, visit: www.mflex.com